Briard
Discover the history, physical traits, and health realities of the Briard, a French shepherd dog with a distinctive double dewclaw and a complex past.
The Briard is a large French shepherd dog standing 62 to 68 cm at the withers for males, with a coat that must be at least 7 cm long and harsh like a goat's. Its most distinctive physical trait is the mandatory double dewclaw on the hind legs, a feature so critical that a single or absent dewclaw is a disqualifying fault in the breed standard.
The breed's French origins and early history
The Briard, or Berger de Brie, originates from the Brie region of north-central France, where it was traditionally employed to herd sheep and defend them. The first written record appears in Jean-Baptiste François Rozier's 1783 Cours complet d'agriculture, which described the "chien de Brie" as long-haired and usually black, noting their primary role was keeping sheep from straying into crops rather than fighting wolves. Pierre Mégnin's 1895 writings clearly distinguished the long-haired Chien de Brie from the short-haired Chien de Beauce, the ancestor of the modern Beauceron. The breed was first exhibited at the inaugural Paris dog show in 1863, where a bitch named Charmant took a prize, and the first dog registered in the national stud-book, the Livre des Origines Françaises, was Sans Gêne in 1885.
Coat varieties and physical standards
The breed standard describes a coat that is thick, harsh, and at least 7 cm long, available in solid black, grey, blue, or fawn, sometimes with fawn overlaid by black. While the 1897 standard originally described two coat types—one woolly like a sheep and one goat-like—the woolly variety has since disappeared, leaving the goat-like texture as the norm. Greying occurs to a variable extent as the dog ages. The physical size is substantial, with males reaching 62 to 68 cm and females 56 to 64 cm at the withers. The double dewclaw on the hind legs is an unusual anatomical feature specific to the breed, serving as a key identifier for breeders and judges.
Population fluctuations and breed survival
The Briard's numbers have suffered significant declines due to war and agricultural changes, requiring organized efforts to preserve the breed. During the First World War, dogs suitable for military use were sent to the front, reducing the population. The breed society resumed activities in 1923, and by 1935, the first single-breed show featured 78 participants. A second sharp decline occurred during the Nazi occupation of France in the Second World War. Post-war mechanization of agriculture and rural depopulation shifted the breed's role from working dog to companion, leading to a surge in registrations that peaked in 1986 with 6,364 dogs registered in France. Internal disagreements later caused a split in the breed clubs, resulting in the formation of the Association du Berger de Brie in 1989. The breed was fully recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1954.
Health and longevity realities
While the Briard has a median longevity of 12.6 years, which is comparable to the average of 12.5 years for all dogs, the breed faces specific genetic challenges. Congenital hereditary retinal dystrophy has been identified in the breed, particularly in Swedish lines. In a notable medical milestone in 2001, blindness caused by a disease similar to Leber congenital amaurosis was partially reversed in three Briard puppies using gene therapy. These specific health issues highlight the importance of genetic screening for breeders and owners, as the breed is not immune to the same hereditary conditions that affect other large shepherd breeds.